Farhangiyan University: Culmination of One Hundred Years of Official Teacher Training Efforts in Iran Starting with the Central Darolmo’allemin

A perusal of the documents on the history of education in Iran reveals that the official starting point in teacher training goes back to the establishment of Central Daarolmo’allemin a hundred years ago. Over the course of this period, with the numerous structural changes in the Ministry of Education, this center has gradually changed structurally in order to meet the needs and the socio-political conditions of the time. Historical analyses of these changes are all indicative of widespread disarray and confusion, rather than cohesion and continuity. This trend continued up to the current decade when all the establishments tasked with the teaching of future teachers were integrated into one institution, named “Farhangiyan University”. However, this compilation has led to a wrong perception of its task as the continuation of work previously done by Teacher Training University, Daaneshsaraaye Aali, University of Tehran, and Daarolmo’allemin. Documents available at the Islamic Parliament Research Center clearly show the discontinuity that has existed over the past one hundred years in teacher training programs and institutions. To overlook the disarray could lead to misguidance and divergence. An evaluation of the two-year programs in teacher training over the past one hundred years could also yield lessons to be learned in order to improve Farhangiyan University’s functionality.